There is a stunning photo of Georgia’s Stacey Abrams in The Vogue magazine that refuses to check out of people’s brain cells. She reflects power that just will not stop. Abrams ran for governor of her state and lost by just 55,000 votes. That might have had something to do with the man guaranteeing the governor’s race’s ethics also being her competitor. Even so, without Abrams’ efforts, President Joe Biden would have lost his race.
Rather than give up, she started two organizations Fair Fight and Fair Fight Action. The latter is a nonprofit to work against voter suppression, especially in the southern apron of the country and New Hampshire. Fair Fight and Fair Fight Action are two separate organizations, but they share the same website.
Fair Fight’s goal is:
‘We promote fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights. Fair Fight brings awareness to the public on election reform, advocates for election reform at all levels, and engages in other voter education programs and communications.’
Fair Fight Action’s goal is:
‘[T]o make elections in Georgia and the rest of the U.S. more equitable by advocating for changes in voter registration laws that will increase the number of eligible voters. Their goals are to encourage voter turnout and to ensure that all votes are accurately counted. They also want to make absentee ballots more consistent.’
Abrams shot out a message armed with 18-tweets Monday afternoon, and they hit home. She warned against Republicans’ war on voting rights in Georgia, Arizona, and New Hampshire:
‘This week, there is a coordinated attack on voting rights. GOP-led legislatures in GA, AZ & NH are pushing dozens of bills to make it harder for people of color & young people to vote. We voted in Nov & instead of listening, they are trying to shut us out of the process. 1/18’
Abrams pointed to the Georgia Senate Bill 241, which she described as the “largest push to restrict voting rights since Jim Crow:”
‘In GA, SB 241 would end no-excuse vote-by-mail (VBM), risk identity theft of voters + allow the legislature to steal power from state & local election officials. It’s one of the worst VBM bills in the nation & part of the largest push to restrict voting rights since Jim Crow.’
This Georgia state bill attacks both Christian and Jewish “communities of faith” by halting Sunday voting:
‘GA HB 531 is a direct attack on our communities of faith. It would limit weekend voting, curtailing Souls to the Polls and may create an impossible position for Jewish Georgians who celebrate the Sabbath and vote on Sundays.’
Arizona voted to “purge up to 200,000 voters:”
‘Like GA, voters of color drove record turnout in AZ. Last week, the AZ Senate voted to approve SB 1485 to purge the highly-popular Permanent Early Vote List. Advocates estimate this could purge up to 200,000 voters—including 50,000 Latinx voters.’
The attorney in Abrams shone clearly as she called Arizona out on moving its voter “authority and oversight:”
‘SB 1068 will shift significant election authority and oversight power from the Arizona Secretary of State (D) and the Attorney General (R) to the partisan state legislature.’
Arizona Senate Bill 1713 would force absentee ballot voters to expose their “personal information:”
‘SB 1713 would force Arizona voters to include personal information on their absentee ballot envelopes, increasing the risk of identity theft and making it harder for people to vote by mail.’
She pointed to an attempt to “shorten the early voting period and discard ballots:”
‘SB 1593 would shorten the early voting period and discard ballots not postmarked 5 days BEFORE the election. These blatant efforts will make it harder for Latinx, Native American and young people to participate because they are the most likely to vote early.’
In New Hampshire, a bill would challenge “provisional ballot” eligibility:
‘The New Hampshire legislature is hearing HB 531 today. This bill would allow anyone to challenge an eligible citizen’s right to vote by provisional ballot, significantly impacting new Americans by demanding extensive, unnecessary documentation or risk having their voice silenced.’
New Hampshire’s House Bill 554 will try to “intimidate young people:”
‘HB 554 similarly tries to intimidate young people by introducing confusing residency requirements. HB 86 effectively bans out-of-state college students from voting, requiring tax-paying students who wish to vote in NH to prove they receive in-state tuition.’
Abrams called out the GA, AZ, and NH Republicans for “using taxpayers’ dollars” to “target vulnerable voters:”
‘There’s no question about what Republicans in GA, AZ and NH are doing: targeting vulnerable voters who may prevent them from winning & using taxpayers’ dollars to do so—at the expense of working families, small biz + others. Making it hard for us to make it easy for them.’
Abrams noted that voters in these three states are at “an inflection point:”
‘Georgia, Arizona and New Hampshire voters: we are at an inflection point and it’s going to take ALL of us to advocate for those who the Republicans are trying to silence. So here’s what I need you to do:’
Leaving nothing to chance, she linked people to their state legislators:
‘If you live and vote in Georgia, contact your state legislator by going to bit.ly/VotingRightsGA and telling them to vote NO on HB 531 and SB 241.’
In Arizona, Abrams gave them a phone number:
‘If you live and vote in Arizona, pick up the phone and call 877-406-6303 to tell your State Senator to vote NO on the suppressive bills SB 1713 and 1593. Stay tuned for how to tell your House Rep to vote NO on SB 1485.’
It helped that she gave people the tools of change: the bill numbers and their wrong-headed goals:
‘If you live and vote in New Hampshire, sign your name to the New Hampshire Coalition for Voting Rights petition telling the legislature to reject HB 86, 531 & 554 and additional anti-voter bills.’
The first woman of color to give the response to the Republican president’s State of the Union address, she called out “state elections officials” on this day:
‘These bills in GA, AZ, & NH do more than restrict voting. They also aim to steal power from local boards and state elections officials who did their lawful jobs and instead consolidate power in partisan state legislatures that supported the Big Lie.’
She also gave people the why. They must join in safeguarding critical Democratic protections, and the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act:”
‘This is why Congress must pass the For the People Act to safeguard critical protections, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will re-establish Federal oversight to guard against racial discrimination in voting.’
As Abrams said, “Republicans cannot have it both ways:”
‘Republicans cannot have it both ways. They can’t fight for the filibuster and claim Democrats do not respect existing rules, while simultaneously snatching power from election officials in their states so they can change the rules.’
She also gave people a place to come the next time:
‘To stay up to date on our efforts to protect the vote in other states, make sure you bookmark bit.ly/VoterProtectio!’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
